Scootaloo entered the lobby of her base and found her soldiers guarding two figures she never expected to see under such conditions. Spike looked to her as he had before the war just like the reports, and Starlight was pretty and had a soft expression rather than the evil stare Scootaloo was used to seeing.

Scootaloo looked them over and then turned to Brick. "I told you to gather information. Not to push your luck, get captured, and then bring Starlight and SPike back here," she snapped at him.

"Yes, ma'am," replied Brick with a salute.

"Dismissed," hissed Scootaloo.

Starlight watched the filly she knew as a fun-loving and adventures young one enter the room with a level of command and respect she hadn't seen anywhere but the Wonderbolts before. She listened to the way Scootaloo spoke and noticed the strong and consistent tone and mannerisms she used. This was certainly not the filly she knew.

"You two!" said Scootaloo as she turned to Spike and Starlight. "Welcome to Fort Dawn Watch, but until I know for sure what's going on here your stay will be in our brig."

"What?" asked Starlight.

"Scootaloo we..." Spike started to say.

"Lieutenant! Not Scootaloo, only my soldiers and superiors can use my name!" Scootaloo screamed in Spike's face.

Spike was speechless, he simply stood still and stared at the filly with a mixture of fear and uncertainty inside his mind. Starlight frowned but said nothing. Scootaloo nodded to a group of guards and the Ponies escorted Starlight and Spike away to the brig.

Spike and Starlight waited for hours in the brig. The fort was constructed of wood and brick and the brig was much nicer than Twilights dungeon but it was still cramped, dark, and uncomfortable. Only a small window at the top of the cell revealed the passage of time to them; through it they could watch the sunlight as it traveled across the sky. Starlight noticed something odd about how the sun traveled but she assumed it was due to the limited view she had.

Scootaloo eventually came by and pulled each of them away to talk alone.

The process of questioning repeated for several more hours. Scootaloo constantly came up with new questions and tests. No matter what they did the filly remained skeptical. Finally during one talk Starlight brought up the Cutiemark Crusaders. The conversation became heated right away but in time Scootaloo saw that Starlight was not lying. Starlight managed to convince Scootaloo that she was not from her world and that in the world she came from her friends were alive and well, and the three of them still played every day.

-------------------------------------------------ONE DAY LATER-----------------------------------------------

Through their conversations, Scootaloo, Starlight, and Spike had come to trust one another enough that Spike and Starlight were able to move around the fort without an escort. Together Starlight and Scootaloo had been educating each other on their respective worlds and for the first time since arriving Starlight had a clear idea of what was going on.

Spike and Starlight were in their room sitting on their cots and talking. Starlight was explaining the differences in the history of their worlds.

"So instead of working on the time spell, she stole the Alicorn Amulet from Zecora?" asked Spike.

"Yea, the Starlight in this world used the Amulet to steal Celestia and Luna's cutiemarks and powers," explained Starlight.

"Twilight fought her not long after that trying to stop her from going after her brother and Cadence."

"What happened?" asked Spike.

"The me in this world tricked Twilight into believing she was open to change and was able to steal her Element of Harmony," replied Starlight.

Spike's eyes grew wide. "Really? Where were the others?" she asked in shock.

"Dealing with the creatures of Tartarus. Starlight broke the seal and unleashed them on Ponyville before she headed for the Crystal Empire," explained Starlight. "In the end, Twilight got the Alicorn Amulet from her but lost her Element. In this world, I used something called the Frost Relic to make a ring that gave me the power to take down the Crystal Empire."

Spike rose his eyebrow in confusion. "I thought she made an amulet?" he replied.

"She did. Just before the Great Last Stand. First, she was trying to collect a set of artifacts. She had the Frost Relic, and then she acquired one called the Growth Relic. She tried to get the Lava Relic but you stopped her," explained Starlight.

"Yea how did that happen?" asked Spike with great interest.

"When Twilight learne about the relics she sent you and Rainbow Dash to the Dragon lands where you ended up having to claim the title of Dragonlord. The history these Ponies have doesn't say how that happened though. Whatever happened you had enough power to stop me in this world," said Starlight.

"That's amazing. I must have been awesome!" exclaimed Spike.

"Ha, ha," laughed Starlight. It was nice to see Spike's youthful excitement surface again.

"So what about the Great Last Stand?" asked Spike a few minutes later.

Starlight frowned and looked at the floor. This was the part of the history in which things went from bad to awful for this world. After a few seconds, Starlight looked at Spike again and spoke.

"When she was stopped in the Dragon lands she returned to Canterlot. She used the relics in a massive spell one day and caused the fields and plants in Ponyville to freeze. She ambushed Applejack and Fluttershy and froze them too," explained Starlight. "Stricken with grief and panic Twilight and the others tried to rescue them but failed. In the process, they lost all their elements to Starlight and her new army in Canterlot. This worlds Starlight was able to freeze and capture Pinkie Pie and Rarity that day too," she continued.

"What! Rarity is frozen in Canterlot?" yelled Spike with a worried tone.

"Spike that was a long time ago, no one knows where they are now," said Starlight remorsefully.

"I guess your right. There is nothing I can do now anyway, but I have to find out what happened," complained Spike as he jumped off his cot and paced the room.

"After that day Starlight and Twilight ruled separate halves of Equestria and waged battle after battle. Eventually, in this world, I learned how to do what in our world I determined to be impossible. She created the amulet using the Elements of Harmony. I thought the spell would result in the likely destruction of hundreds of miles at the least, but she pulled it off," said Starlight continuing where she left off.

"I don't get it, shouldn't she be like... unstoppable? She has a ring, and an amulet, these relic things, then Celestia and Luna's magic, plus her own!" exclaimed Spike.

"It doesn't work like that Spike. Things like artifacts and relics can interfere with each others magic, it can be disastrous. And I don't know if a Unicorn can really control Celestia and Luna's magic. I suspect that the amulet helps her maintain control over the magic she has, which means her power is probably unstable," explained Starlight.

"Ok so what about Twilight?" replied Spike.

"Twilight slowly changed as she lost her friends. According to Scootaloo who claims Shining Armor told her this himself; Twilight built and kind of machine with focusing stones that she uses to enhance her power with the Alicorn Amulet. Shining Armor and Scootaloo believe this is what caused her spiral into madness," said Starlight.

"Spiral into madness?" replied Spike.

"That's how Scootaloo put it," explained Starlight.

"Ok but why does she want to rid the world of magic?" asked Spike.

"Well..." started Starlight.

Suddenly a large explosion cut off their conversation. Spike rushed to the door and opened it. Outside they could hear the sounds of fighting and more explosions.

"What now!" yelled Starlight as she rushed out the door.

Then a massive explosion sounded and the building shook violently. Starlight and Spike hurried to the door of the barracks but were unable to open it for some time. As they desperately tried simple magic, fire, and several other means to get the door open they could hear the obvious sounds of fighting all throughout the fort.

"Gahhh!" roared Starlight as she blasted the door open with a strong spell finally.

Starlight and Spike hurried down the hall to the lobby of the fort. When they entered they found the font of the building had bee completely blown away. Dozens of Ponies lay crushed in the rubble. Starlight charged out the door with a desire to help but immediately stopped in her tracks at the sight she beheld.

In the courtyard of the fort, she found darkly armored Ponies rounding up the forts compliment and two large metal monstrosities parked in the center. Starlight saw a figure standing on one them. The figure was a Pony wearing a dark cloak and a grey mask that covered her muzzle and cheeks. When the Pony noticed her and turned Starlight gasped. She realized it was herself she was looking at.

Author's Note

Those of you hoping for a fight in this story be sure to read the next chapter!

The conversations between Scootaloo and Starlight will be revealed in another chapter.
Gamma team being captured by Twilight will be detailed as well.